After the Flip camcorders became a mega-hit a number of other companies jumped on the bandwagon. They copied the Flip formula–delivering a video recording solution that was compact, affordable, and, above all, easy to operate–in many different varieties. These competitors have met with varied levels of success, with Kodak often getting the most praise for their Zi8, and many other good buys out there.

RCA’s offering is known as the Small Wonder EZ209HD. With this device consumers get 720p HD video recording, up to 16GB of storage using a microSD slot, a built-in HD video out through HDMI, three recording modes (HD, Sports, and Web), and still photo shooting (3200×2400). While seemingly a basic feature the ability to shoot still images at a very usable resolution makes the Small Wonder a significantly more versatile product than many of the other tiny camcorders out there.

At 2.5 x 4.3 x 0.9-inches and just 0.2 pounds the Small Wonder will fit in any pocket. It feels even smaller than the dimensions suggest because the depth accounts for the protrusion of the lens from the body. As for that lens, it’s capable of shooting 1280×720 video at 30 fps or 848×480 at 60 fps (Sports mode). There is no optical zoom, but but there is 3x digital zoom if you absolutely need it. The lens’ biggest weakness is its focus distance which is 2 meters, making it unusable for close-up shooting. Once you take it outdoors though and give it some nature light, it does quite well though.

The interface is as simple as can be given all that the Small Wonder can do. This means it’s easy to operate, but not as simplified as a Flip camcorder, which doesn’t have to worry about shooting still images. The primary control is the big red button in the middle, which starts and stops videos. That is surrounded by a 4-way navigation button that controls digital zoom and then handles side-to-side actions when you need to operate the menus (such as to view or delete your movies). The other buttons are play/pause, delete. menu, and photo. This means you have dedicated buttons for important functions, which cuts down on confusion. The dedicated photo button is especially important as it means you won’t confuse shooting video with photos. The on-screen menu is very simple, it’s just basics controls for time/date, output (NSTC or PAL), language, and if you want sounds on the button actions. There is an indicator on-screen that tells you whether you are using the microSD memory (up to 16GB) or the tiny bit of on-board storage.

The EZ209HD’s hardware is small and it seems sturdy. It’s plastic-y but very light, so I don’t think it will have any problems taking a few drops. It is a little bit wide to be held comfortably for extended periods of time, but the shape isn’t much of a problem. The hardware, on the whole, is OK–it’s great to see built-in HDMI, but the extended glass could be prone to scratching, the recesses memory card is hard to get at unless if you have long nails, and the power button feels imprecise. These are all minor quibbles though. One more serious issue for some people will be the lack of a built-in USB connection, which means you’ll need a cable with mini USB to get your data off of the cam. At this point it would have been nice to see micro USB instead. A cable in included, as is a AC adapter for charging the device from a wall outlet.

Potential buyers should note that the Small Wonder does not have a flash or tripod mount. These will not matter to most people, but they will be reasons to buy another product for others.

The results from the Small Wonder vary widely, based on conditions. In optimum conditions the cam does quite well, with nice HD shooting and a crisp image. Colors never really pop, but with sufficient natural light both video and still images look great. As the light goes down things degrade quickly. The Small Wonder is fine for well-lit indoor shooting, but it’s just about unusable at a concert or at a bar. This is pretty much what we’ve come to expect from products like this–if you want better shooting with less-than-perfect light you simple need a better lens and a larger sensor, there is no way around it.

Still images are just about 1.2MB per shot, though this will vary based on what you are shooting. Here is an unedited image taken with the Small Wonder EZ209HD (click to enlarge):

It’s very nice image considering the size of the device. Conditions were less than idea, but because there was a lot of light it captured good details in the signs and it was able to focus on the nearby details while the buildings far away were still sharp.

Here is a sample 720p HD video:

And a sample Sports mode video:

Finally, a sample of the web video:

The video quality is not bad at all, so long as there is enough light. The small size of the cam leads to some shakiness and zooming in and out is jerky, but overall the quality is more than acceptable. Videos taken at night did not so so well, and they ended up looking noisy and grainy. These issues are more pronounced on the Sports and HD modes where the extra resolution makes any problems very apparent.

Considering that the Small Wonder EZ209HD is currently for sale for $90 at some places it’s really hard to ask too much of it. It takes solid HD video and still photos in daylight, fits in a pocket, and has expandable storage, so the feature set doesn’t give us anything to complain about. The jerky zooming and poor quality at low light levels are unfortunate, but rough edges come with the territory and low light performance is simply a matter of optics and sensor size. The build quality could be improved as well, as the on/off switch feels mushy and the video mode switch is easy to accidentally move. Not to pile too much on, but I’ve read some complaints about the software as well (I used my own for the sake of consistency).

Problems aside, it’s an HD web for under $100. The videos above speaks for themselves.